Preface to the Essay Series
Orientation, considered as finding one’s ways successfully in new situations, isn’t simply a matter of theoretical knowledge. It’s also an achievement and a competence involving manifold orientation skills and orientation virtues that differ depending on the field of action we’re in. Such orientation skills, demanded especially from successful professionals such as entrepreneurs, businesspeople, politicians, lawyers, athletes, marketers, scientists, artists, or poker players, have hardly become an object of philosophical research. Through the lens of the philosophy of orientation, our essay series investigates these orientation skills that are vital for people to successfully find their ways in today’s complex and ever-changing world. …
Reinhard G. Mueller, September 2020
Decision-Making as an Orientation Skill: Annie Duke’s Thinking in Bets and the Philosophy of Orientation
When you’re playing poker, you must quickly gather a multitude of information on each move: the cards on the table, the cards in your hand and those you suspect in your opponents’ hands, the stakes on the table, the other players’ skills and game strategies, the different options you have, and the bets and risks you’re willing to take. You have to make your decisions under the pressure of time and without reaching any certainty. As such playing poker displays what you do when you orient yourself: …